Banana Lake fire near Plains expands to 850 acres
An 850-acre wildfire exploded in size on Sunday about four miles north of Plains.
The Banana Lake fire was discovered on Saturday and prompted a significant response from firefighting officials. As of Monday, 17 engines, two helicopters, two hand crews, a hotshot crew and three bulldozers are all assigned to the fire.
The Western Montana Type 3 Incident Management Team, led by Ken Parks — the deputy director of the Missoula County Emergency Management Department — assumed command of the incident on Monday.
Firefighters were busy over the weekend with structure protection.
(Information on what structures were being protected was not immediately available.)
The fire started near Locust Hill in Plains and is burning along Highway 28 near Rainbow Lake. Fueling the fire is open timber, and a 'full suppression response' is being implemented per the fire's Inciweb situation report.
Fire officials asked the public to stay away from the area. The state's Department of Natural Resources and Conservation media liaison listed for the fire did not immediately return a request for comment.
Montana could be gearing up for a long fire season. National Interagency Fire Center maps predict 'greater than usual' likelihood of significant wildfires for half of the state by July and nearly all of it come August.
'Wildfires are a reality in Montana each year, but thanks to increased funding and innovative technology, DNRC is more prepared than ever before to respond quickly and effectively,' Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a press release last week. 'While our teams are equipped and ready to protect homes and communities in the event of wildfire, we also need every Montanan to take simple steps to join us in our efforts to keep our state safe.'
Gianforte signed two wildfire bills earlier this month, while vetoing two others that would have impacted local fire departments. How wildfires are to be fought is also a major topic both at the federal level and in the court system.
The state has already had several early season wildfires, including one near Wisdom that ended up burning more than 2,000 acres. According to Montana Fire Info, nearly 350 fires have burned in the state this year so far.
Rural firefighters throughout the state are starting to see things dry out. That includes Missoula Rural Fire District Lt. Phillip Mediate during an interview with the Daily Montanan regarding unseasonably warm temperatures over the weekend.
'We've had a pretty good wet spring,' Mediate said on Saturday morning. 'We're starting to see the spike in temperatures now. I think the fire danger has moved to moderate, just in the last couple of days, so we're starting to see those grasses dry out … we're starting to head into that season.'
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